Pool Injury Statistics: U.S. Emergency Room Visits by Product, Age and Month, 2015 to 2024

At a glance

• U.S. emergency departments treated an estimated 90,300 nonfatal pool injuries in 2024, with a 95% confidence interval of 65,800 to 114,900 (CPSC NEISS microdata, PC&S analysis).
• Swimming pools themselves were involved in 80,400 of those 2024 injuries, diving or diving boards in 6,800, pool equipment in 6,200, pool chemicals in 4,700 and pool slides in 1,700 (CPSC NEISS microdata, PC&S analysis).
• Children aged 5 to 9 had the highest U.S. pool injury rate in 2024, at 93.0 per 100,000, which is 3.5 times the all-ages rate of 26.6 (CPSC NEISS microdata, PC&S analysis; Census Bureau Vintage 2025).
• June, July and August accounted for 63.0% of U.S. pool injuries treated from 2015 to 2024, against 26.8% of all consumer product injuries in 2024 (CPSC NEISS microdata, PC&S analysis).
• Only 5.3% of U.S. pool injuries in 2024 led to hospital admission or transfer, less than half the 12.3% share for all consumer product injuries (CPSC NEISS microdata, PC&S analysis).
• Diving injuries had the highest share admitted or transferred of the five pool product families from 2015 to 2024, at 7.6% (CPSC NEISS microdata, PC&S analysis).
• The U.S. pool injury estimate moved from 107,000 in 2015 to 90,300 in 2024, 15.6% lower, although the 95% confidence intervals for the two years overlap (CPSC NEISS microdata, PC&S analysis).

What counts as a pool injury in this report

This report counts emergency department visits in which a NEISS coder recorded a swimming pool, pool equipment, diving or diving board, pool slide or pool chemical product code. Fatal cases and drowning-type diagnoses are taken out, so the figures describe nonfatal, non-drowning injuries.

The National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) collects emergency department records from a probability sample of about 100 U.S. hospitals grouped into 5 strata (CPSC NEISS FAQ). The current sample was drawn from a 2020 frame of 4,723 eligible hospital emergency departments (CPSC sample design statement). Each case carries a statistical weight, and summing the weights gives a national estimate (CPSC NEISS Data Highlights 2024).

• Swimming pools: product codes 1284 (not specified), 3221 (above-ground), 3251 (built-in) and 5043 (portable) (NEISS Coding Manual 2025).
• Pool equipment: code 3262, which excludes chemicals, diving boards and pool slides (NEISS Coding Manual 2025).
• Diving or diving boards: code 1278, which covers diving in any setting, not only pools (NEISS Coding Manual 2025).
• Pool slides: code 1277 (NEISS Coding Manual 2025).
• Pool chemicals: code 0938 (NEISS Coding Manual 2025).

• All U.S. emergency department visits linked to a pool product family, 2024: 98,100 (CPSC NEISS microdata, PC&S analysis).
• Minus fatal cases (dead on arrival or died in the emergency department), 2024: 400, an unstable estimate shown only to define scope (CPSC NEISS microdata, PC&S analysis).
• Minus nonfatal submersion-type visits, 2024: 7,400 (CPSC NEISS microdata, PC&S analysis).
• Equals nonfatal pool injuries, the scope of this report, 2024: 90,300 (CPSC NEISS microdata, PC&S analysis).

Pool injury statistics by product family, 2024

Swimming pools are named in most 2024 cases, usually without the pool type. Diving, equipment, chemical and slide injuries are smaller but have distinct injury patterns and age profiles.

The swimming pool family covered 89.0% of U.S. pool injuries in 2024 (CPSC NEISS microdata, PC&S analysis). Most of those records did not state the pool type: 60,800 were coded as pool type not specified, against 16,100 built-in pools, 1,800 above-ground pools and 1,700 portable pools (CPSC NEISS microdata, PC&S analysis).

Ten-year trend in U.S. pool injuries, 2015 to 2024

Annual estimates ranged from 71,300 in 2020 to 108,600 in 2016. All ten annual 95% confidence intervals overlap, and a change of hospital sample in 2024 limits comparisons across that year.

The U.S. estimate was 107,000 in 2015 and 90,300 in 2024, 15.6% lower (CPSC NEISS microdata, PC&S analysis). Averaging three years at each end gives 105,600 a year for 2015 to 2017 and 88,500 a year for 2022 to 2024, a decline of 16.1% (CPSC NEISS microdata, PC&S analysis). Adjusted for population growth, the rate fell from 33.4 to 26.6 per 100,000 residents, a decline of 20.4% (CPSC NEISS microdata, PC&S analysis; Census Bureau Vintage 2025).

The 2020 low of 71,300 was 30.8% below the 2019 estimate. It coincides with the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the NEISS estimate for all consumer product injuries also fell 18.3% (CPSC NEISS microdata, PC&S analysis). The pool injury estimate was back at 94,900 in 2022 (CPSC NEISS microdata, PC&S analysis).

Who gets hurt: pool injury rates by age and sex, 2024

School-age children carry the highest pool injury rates. Once drownings are excluded, the rate for children aged 5 to 9 is 1.9 times the rate for children under 5, and adults 25 and older have the lowest rates.

Children aged 5 to 9 had 18,600 U.S. pool injuries in 2024, a rate of 93.0 per 100,000 (CPSC NEISS microdata, PC&S analysis; Census Bureau Vintage 2025). Children aged 10 to 14 followed at 67.0 per 100,000, and children under 5 at 48.0 per 100,000 (CPSC NEISS microdata, PC&S analysis; Census Bureau Vintage 2025). Adults aged 25 to 44 had a rate of 14.3 per 100,000, and adults 65 and older 14.6 per 100,000 (CPSC NEISS microdata, PC&S analysis; Census Bureau Vintage 2025).

When pool injuries happen: monthly seasonality, 2015 to 2024

Pool injuries are concentrated in the summer far more than consumer product injuries in general. July has a seasonality index of 324, where 100 is an average month, and December has an index of 24.

From 2015 to 2024, June, July and August accounted for 63.0% of U.S. pool injuries, and May through September for 78.9% (CPSC NEISS microdata, PC&S analysis). In 2024 the summer share was 64.4%, which is 2.4 times the 26.8% summer share for all consumer product injuries (CPSC NEISS microdata, PC&S analysis). The seasonality index peaks at 324 in July and bottoms out at 24 in December (CPSC NEISS microdata, PC&S analysis).

How people get hurt: diagnoses, body parts and narrative patterns, 2024

Head and face injuries, lacerations and fractures dominate the trauma side of the profile. A sizeable share of visits are not trauma at all: ear complaints, eye irritation and chemical exposures make up part of the total.

The head was the injured body part in 16.7% of U.S. pool injuries in 2024, the face in 11.8% and the ear in 12.0% (CPSC NEISS microdata, PC&S analysis). Internal head injuries, the NEISS code used for closed head injuries (NEISS Coding Manual 2025), made up 8.8% of cases, and concussions 2.3% (CPSC NEISS microdata, PC&S analysis).

The largest diagnosis group in 2024 was ‘other or not stated’ at 29.9% (CPSC NEISS microdata, PC&S analysis). Narrative keywords show that much of this group is ear-related: about 11.8% of all 2024 pool injury visits, roughly 10,700, described ear pain, ear infection or swimmer’s ear (CPSC NEISS microdata, PC&S analysis).

• Swimming pools, 2022 to 2024: 21.7% of narratives mention a fall, 13.8% a jump and 10.1% slipping (CPSC NEISS microdata, PC&S analysis).
• Pool equipment, 2022 to 2024: 52.7% mention a ladder or steps and 42.7% a fall; fractures were the top diagnosis at 23.1% (CPSC NEISS microdata, PC&S analysis).
• Diving, 2022 to 2024: 53.3% mention striking or hitting something and 7.2% mention shallow water (CPSC NEISS microdata, PC&S analysis).
• Pool slides, 2022 to 2024: the head was injured in 32.7% of cases (CPSC NEISS microdata, PC&S analysis).
• Pool chemicals, 2022 to 2024: 65.7% mention chlorine and 22.4% mention fumes, gas or inhalation (CPSC NEISS microdata, PC&S analysis).

Diving board injury statistics and severity by product, 2015 to 2024

Diving injuries are less common than general pool injuries but have the highest share of hospital admissions or transfers among the five product families, although the confidence interval overlaps those of pool equipment and swimming pools. Diving injuries also skew strongly male and toward head injuries.

From 2015 to 2024, 7.6% of U.S. diving or diving board injuries were admitted or transferred (95% CI 5.7% to 9.5%), compared with 5.2% for swimming pools, 6.6% for pool equipment, 5.3% for pool chemicals and 4.6% for pool slides (CPSC NEISS microdata, PC&S analysis).

In 2024, NEISS recorded an estimated 6,800 U.S. diving or diving board injuries (CPSC NEISS microdata, PC&S analysis). From 2022 to 2024, 70.1% involved males and the head was the injured body part in 32.5% (CPSC NEISS microdata, PC&S analysis). In 2024, 43.1% of diving narratives mentioned a pool, 39.0% a board and 15.0% natural water or structures such as lakes, docks or cliffs (CPSC NEISS microdata, PC&S analysis).

Earlier research on U.S. children found that collision with a diving board or platform caused 43.9% of pediatric diving injuries from 1990 to 2006 (Day et al., Pediatrics 2008). Among U.S. children with facial injuries from 2007 to 2016, 12% of diving injuries were fractures against 7% of swimming injuries (Guys et al., 2018).

Pool chemical injury statistics, 2015 to 2024

Pool chemical injuries are a small share of pool-related emergency visits. They are mostly poisonings and eye or skin irritation, and a larger share happens at home than for pool injuries in general.

NEISS recorded an estimated 4,700 nonfatal U.S. pool chemical injuries in 2024 (95% CI 3,100 to 6,400) and an average of 4,200 a year from 2022 to 2024 (CPSC NEISS microdata, PC&S analysis). CDC puts the figure at about 4,500 a year (CDC), and CDC’s MMWR found a median of 4,535 a year from 2008 to 2017 (CDC MMWR).

From 2022 to 2024, poisoning was the top diagnosis at 33.4% and dermatitis or conjunctivitis followed at 28.4% (CPSC NEISS microdata, PC&S analysis). The eyeball was the injured body part in 33.9% of cases, 36.8% of narratives mentioned an eye, and 39.9% of cases occurred at home, against 21.4% for all pool product families (CPSC NEISS microdata, PC&S analysis).

How these pool injury statistics compare with other published figures

Published pool injury numbers differ mainly because of scope. This report’s total is 49.5% of CPSC’s broader product grouping, which adds swimming as an activity, and drowning reports count a different outcome.

• CPSC’s ‘Swimming, Pools, Equipment’ grouping: 182,344 U.S. injuries in 2024 (CPSC NEISS Data Highlights 2024). This report’s 90,300 is 49.5% of that figure because swimming as an activity and flotation toys are excluded, as are submersions.
• PC&S replication of the CPSC grouping: 182,267 for 2024, 0.04% below CPSC’s published number (CPSC NEISS microdata, PC&S analysis).
• CDC pool chemical injuries: 13,508 ED visits for 2015 to 2017 (CDC MMWR); PC&S tabulation of NEISS code 938 for the same years: 13,508 (CPSC NEISS microdata, PC&S analysis).
• CPSC pool and spa drownings: an annual average of 5,900 nonfatal drowning injuries to children under 15 from 2023 to 2025 (CPSC 2026 submersion report). See our pool drowning statistics by state report.
• Eye injuries from swimming and water sports: 42,472 U.S. emergency visits from 2013 to 2022, 12.5% of them from chlorine or chemical irritation (Lee et al., 2025).

Fifteen numbers that matter

1. An estimated 90,300 nonfatal pool injuries were treated in U.S. emergency departments in 2024, based on 2,362 NEISS sample cases (CPSC NEISS microdata, PC&S analysis).
2. Children under 15 accounted for 45.8% of U.S. pool injuries in 2024, about 41,400 emergency visits (CPSC NEISS microdata, PC&S analysis).
3. The 2024 U.S. pool injury rate for children under 15 was 69.9 per 100,000, 4.7 times the rate for adults 25 and older (15.0 per 100,000) (CPSC NEISS microdata, PC&S analysis; Census Bureau Vintage 2025).
4. Males made up 52.2% of U.S. pool injuries in 2024, a rate of 28.3 per 100,000 against 24.9 for females (CPSC NEISS microdata, PC&S analysis; Census Bureau Vintage 2025).
5. July was the peak month for U.S. pool injuries from 2015 to 2024, with a seasonality index of 324, 13.5 times the December index of 24 (CPSC NEISS microdata, PC&S analysis).
6. The head was the most frequently injured body part in U.S. pool injuries in 2024, at 16.7% of cases (CPSC NEISS microdata, PC&S analysis).
7. Lacerations were the most common specific diagnosis in U.S. pool injuries in 2024, at 17.1%, followed by fractures at 9.8% (CPSC NEISS microdata, PC&S analysis).
8. About 11.8% of U.S. pool injury emergency visits in 2024 described an ear complaint such as ear pain or ear infection rather than trauma (CPSC NEISS microdata, PC&S analysis).
9. Diving or diving board injuries averaged 7,000 a year in the U.S. from 2022 to 2024, and 70.1% involved males (CPSC NEISS microdata, PC&S analysis).
10. Pool equipment injury narratives mentioned a ladder or steps in 52.7% of U.S. cases from 2022 to 2024 (CPSC NEISS microdata, PC&S analysis).
11. Pool slides were linked to 1,700 U.S. emergency visits in 2024, and 77.6% of slide injuries from 2022 to 2024 involved children under 15 (CPSC NEISS microdata, PC&S analysis).
12. Pool chemicals were linked to 4,700 nonfatal U.S. emergency visits in 2024, close to CDC’s figure of about 4,500 a year (CPSC NEISS microdata, PC&S analysis; CDC).
13. Built-in (in-ground) pools were named in 16,100 U.S. pool injuries in 2024, above-ground pools in 1,800 and portable pools in 1,700, while 60,800 did not specify the pool type (CPSC NEISS microdata, PC&S analysis).
14. Separately from the injury count, NEISS recorded an estimated 7,400 nonfatal submersion-type visits linked to pool products in 2024; drownings are covered in our pool drowning statistics by state report (CPSC NEISS microdata, PC&S analysis).

Rates, trends and severity we calculated

Download the calculation sheet (CSV)

New in this edition

• 2026-10This edition analyses NEISS microdata for 2015 to 2024. The CPSC NEISS query page listed a 2025 annual data file when it was captured on 2026-09-23 (CPSC NEISS query page), but the CPSC NEISS server returned an error page on 2026-10-03 and the Internet Archive holds no copy of the 2025 file, so 2024 is the latest year analysed.
• 2026-09The latest NEISS Data Highlights edition listed on the CPSC NEISS query page in its 2026-09-23 capture was for 2024 (CPSC NEISS query page). That edition puts CPSC’s broader ‘Swimming, Pools, Equipment’ grouping at 182,344 U.S. emergency department injuries in 2024, based on 4,825 cases (CPSC NEISS Data Highlights 2024).
• 2026-05CPSC published its 2026 pool or spa submersion report, built on calendar-year 2025 NEISS data extracted on 2026-04-27. It estimates 6,200 nonfatal pool or spa drowning injuries to U.S. children under 15 in 2025 (CPSC 2026 submersion report). Drownings are outside this report’s injury count.
• 2025-05CDC’s pool chemical emergencies page, updated May 28, 2025, states that pool chemical injuries account for about 4,500 emergency department visits a year (CDC).
• 2024NEISS estimates for 2024 come from a new hospital sample drawn from a 2020 frame of 4,723 eligible emergency departments (CPSC sample design statement; CPSC 2026 submersion report). CPSC reports that 77 of the 100 sampled hospitals reported in 2024 (CPSC NEISS Data Highlights 2024).

What people ask

Common questions

Evidence tiers

Tier 1: primary and government sources (18)

• U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC): NEISS Injury Data and archived annual data files (2015 to 2024)
• CPSC: NEISS Coding Manual, January 2025 (rev. 1)
• CPSC: Explanation of NEISS Estimates Obtained Through the CPSC Website
• CPSC: NEISS Frequently Asked Questions
• CPSC: NEISS Data Highlights, Calendar Year 2024
• CPSC: NEISS Data Highlights, Calendar Year 2023
• CPSC: Pool or Spa Submersion: Estimated Nonfatal Drowning Injuries and Reported Drownings, 2026 Report
• CPSC via OMB (reginfo.gov): Supporting Statement Part B: New NEISS Sample
• CPSC via OMB (reginfo.gov): Supporting Statement for Collection of Information: Follow-up Activities for Product-Related Injuries
• CPSC (Internet Archive capture): CPSC NEISS On-Line Query System (Internet Archive capture, 2026-09-23)
• CPSC: NEISS Data Dictionary
• U.S. Census Bureau: Vintage 2025 national population estimates by age and sex
• U.S. Census Bureau: Vintage 2020 national population estimates by age and sex
• CDC, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report: Pool Chemical Injuries in Public and Residential Settings, United States, 2008 to 2017, and New York, 2018
• CDC: Pool Chemical Emergencies
• Pediatrics (Day et al.): Diving-related injuries in children under 20 years old treated in emergency departments in the United States: 1990 to 2006
• International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology (Guys et al.): Wet and wounded: pediatric facial trauma from swimming and diving
• American Journal of Emergency Medicine (Lee et al.): Epidemiology of eye injuries in swimming and water sports presenting to United States emergency departments

References

1. U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). NEISS Injury Data and archived annual data files (2015 to 2024). Accessed 2026-10-03.
2. CPSC. NEISS Coding Manual, January 2025 (rev. 1). Accessed 2026-10-03.
3. CPSC. Explanation of NEISS Estimates Obtained Through the CPSC Website. Accessed 2026-10-03.
4. CPSC. NEISS Frequently Asked Questions. Accessed 2026-10-03.
5. CPSC. NEISS Data Highlights, Calendar Year 2024. Accessed 2026-10-03.
6. CPSC. NEISS Data Highlights, Calendar Year 2023. Accessed 2026-10-03.
7. CPSC. Pool or Spa Submersion: Estimated Nonfatal Drowning Injuries and Reported Drownings, 2026 Report. Accessed 2026-10-03.
8. CPSC via OMB (reginfo.gov). Supporting Statement Part B: New NEISS Sample. Accessed 2026-10-03.
9. CPSC via OMB (reginfo.gov). Supporting Statement for Collection of Information: Follow-up Activities for Product-Related Injuries. Accessed 2026-10-03.
10. CPSC (Internet Archive capture). CPSC NEISS On-Line Query System (Internet Archive capture, 2026-09-23). Accessed 2026-10-03.
11. CPSC. NEISS Data Dictionary. Accessed 2026-10-03.
12. U.S. Census Bureau. Vintage 2025 national population estimates by age and sex. Accessed 2026-10-03.
13. U.S. Census Bureau. Vintage 2020 national population estimates by age and sex. Accessed 2026-10-03.
14. CDC, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Pool Chemical Injuries in Public and Residential Settings, United States, 2008 to 2017, and New York, 2018. Accessed 2026-10-03.
15. CDC. Pool Chemical Emergencies. Accessed 2026-10-03.
16. Pediatrics (Day et al.). Diving-related injuries in children under 20 years old treated in emergency departments in the United States: 1990 to 2006. Accessed 2026-10-03.
17. International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology (Guys et al.). Wet and wounded: pediatric facial trauma from swimming and diving. Accessed 2026-10-03.
18. American Journal of Emergency Medicine (Lee et al.). Epidemiology of eye injuries in swimming and water sports presenting to United States emergency departments. Accessed 2026-10-03.